Fighting Through the Fog

Things have been pretty quiet around here — I see this on other healthy living sites, and when things are quiet, they’re either going well, or badly. Here, luckily they’re going well.

I’ve had good weeks, and better weeks, and no perfect weeks, but I’m not striving for those anyhow. It’s all about balance. I was away from home & my own kitchen for many, many weeks in the past 3-4 months and I managed to balance things out.

Instead, what I do see coming are some hard times. Winter for me is always difficult. In Milan in the past week we’ve had days of beautiful sun and days of rain and complete fog and gray. Watching my mood go up and down with the sun has been incredible. I wish I were just a spectator, watching someone else.

I think about the months ahead, and while I have some great things to look forward to in the next two months (I love the holidays and am heading home to the US for the first time in 10 years over Christmas), I am a bit fearful of January. And February. And March, too. Those months are the toughest for me. They’re also usually the months when I have the least amount of travel planned and can’t get out of this gray.

This year I’m investigating a UV lamp for my house for those gray days. I’ve heard good things about it, and I’ve also gotten a hold of a big bottle of Vitamin D which I’ve also heard can have some effect. I fear the mental gray as much as the physical one.

What else can I do?

I am not tracking as much as I used to, but I’ll continue to do a weekly weigh-in to see how things are going, as well as check how my clothes fit. I’m in maintenance.

I still have my group exercise classes scheduled out for the next few months, and when I’m in Milan, I’ve been very good about going. I’ve been less good about working out when I’m traveling, on very recent trips, so I want to make sure I give some time & effort to that on future trips.

I can enjoy the days which are beautiful, and even though I don’t have a workout scheduled, I’m going make sure I get out of the house for a long walk. Get my vitamin D. Enjoy the sun.

And some other things I suggest for fighting the fog:

• Set an appointment to do things. Put it on my calendar. Intentions can be good, but deadlines I find work better. Once it’s on my calendar, it’s a commitment and it’s a lot harder for me to ignore / postpone.
• Keep your senses happy, especially smell. I am really big into aromatherapy to keep me happy & excited, which is why I have several scents within arm’s reach at my desk. Citrus scents keep me the most energized, so I’ve been using this lemon balm, this citrus rind cream, and this cranberry fragrance oil and alternating between them.
• More house dance parties & dancing. You can’t just listen to music. You actually have to get out of your chair and move. Zumba works great for this, but I want to do more of it & often
• Shake things up & keep it different. I’ve also decided I’m going to experiment with some new classes just to shake things up, and have each week not only be a week in winter, but a week to experiment & try something new. This will take some organization. Luckily, I love that stuff.
• Do it with others. I’ve gotten the urge to run again, which I haven’t done much of since the half-marathon. A huge Nike store just opened near my house and they’re doing running groups once a week.
• Drink more coffee. I usually only have one espresso per day, but getting a coffee in the afternoon will give me a reason to get out of the house, and I’ll get a boost of something I love, too. But not too much!
• Shower it off. I almost always feel better after a shower, and warmer, too.

I’m going to fight through the fog, even if the fog never comes.

*Thanks to Cheri for title inspiration on this post — her site, Writing Through the Fog has some great posts to check out.